What is a Shelf Potato?

For years I’ve written about a type of retail product that my agency calls a “shelf potato“. It’s a well loved product — loved by the manufacturer, loved by the retail buyer who brought it in, and loved by the consumers who buy it. Except, the product mostly lounges on the shelf instead of rushing out the door.

Sometimes, this is the result of problems in the product itself or a reality that it simply doesn’t offer purchasers enough value.

There are many important examples of products that started as shelf potatoes then transformed into dramatic successes. Grills identical to the Foreman grill sat on shelves for nearly 20 years before that infomercial brought them to life. The Drill Doctor drill bit sharpener was languishing on retail shelves until our half hour made them into a superstar and a brand. The Kreg Jig sold well to cabinet shops, but came alive at retail once a half hour infomercial showed homeowners what they could do with it.

Maybe your shelf potatoes can come to life if you put them on the right program for retail fitness. So this blog is dedicated to shelf potatoes. To learning what you might do with ones you have. To deciding which ones might come alive with communication.

But perhaps most importantly, this blog is dedicated to learning the lessons that will increase your product introduction success by avoiding the errors that result in shelf potatoes.